The top 3, by category.
Every category below is ranked at build time from the same BLS, HUD, and Census data behind every calculator on this site. No hand-picked positions — only the top 3 are shown.
Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFFFeatured Categories
Best Cities for Career Growth
See full ranking → 1San Jose · CA2San Francisco · CA3Seattle · WA
Cities With the Highest Purchasing Power
See full ranking → 1San Antonio · TX2Pittsburgh · PA3St. Louis · MO
Best Cities for Remote Workers
See full ranking → 1Washington, DC2New York City · NY3San Francisco · CA
Best Cities for Families
See full ranking → 1Pittsburgh · PA2St. Louis · MO3Kansas City · MO
Highest-Paying Cities for Tech
See full ranking → 1San Jose · CA2San Francisco · CA3Seattle · WA
City Rankings
Cheapest Cities for Renters 1BR rent St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Best Cities for Saving Money Savings signal St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Most Walkable Cities Walk Score Washington, DC · San Francisco · New York City Best No-State-Tax Cities for Renters 1BR rent San Antonio · Houston · Jacksonville Best Cities for a $60K Salary Breathing room St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Best Cities for a $100K Salary Breathing room St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Best Cities for a $30K Salary Breathing room St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Best Cities for an $80K Salary Breathing room St. Louis · Pittsburgh · Detroit Best Cities for Public Transit Transit score Washington, DC · New York City · San Francisco Best Cities for Cyclists Bike score Washington, DC · Portland · Minneapolis Most Expensive Cities for Renters 1BR rent San Jose · San Francisco · New York City Cities With the Lowest Rent Burden Rent burden St. Louis · Detroit · Pittsburgh
State Rankings
Cheapest States to Live COL index Mississippi · West Virginia · Arkansas Best States With No Income Tax COL index Tennessee · Texas · Wyoming Highest Income States Median income Massachusetts · New Jersey · Maryland Best States for Remote Workers Remote score Tennessee · Texas · Wyoming Most Affordable States Income/rent North Dakota · Nebraska · South Dakota Best States for Savers Saver score Tennessee · Texas · Mississippi Highest Rent States Median rent Hawaii · California · Massachusetts Lowest Income Tax States Tax rate Alaska · Florida · Nevada
Methodology
City rankings: BLS OEWS May 2025, HUD FY2026 FMR, and Walk Score data. State rankings: Census ACS 2024, Tax Foundation 2025, and C2ER Cost of Living Index. Every position is computed at build time — nothing is hand-picked.
Read the full methodology →